


I Caught You and Now I'm Hooked

by cablesscutie



Series: MCU Tumblr Prompts [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-13
Updated: 2015-01-13
Packaged: 2018-03-07 10:52:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3171962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cablesscutie/pseuds/cablesscutie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fill for the prompt: “my god, i nearly got hit by a taxi, but this hot stranger pulled me back” au</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Caught You and Now I'm Hooked

Steve’s left eye is rapidly swelling shut, and the only relief from the painful throbbing is the cold rain dripping from his hair. He wishes the rest of his body were as appreciative of the downpour, but sadly, he’s soaked through and shivering as he tries to drag himself home. His mother will have started worrying the second the sudden autumn storm started pouring buckets on the city, and the sooner he can get back to the apartment and show her that he’s okay, the better. Well, once she gets a look at the shiner he’s bringing home, she probably won’t feel much better, but there’s nothing to be done about that. So he grits his teeth and pushes on, half blind from his injuries and the rain streaming down his face. 

He’s almost there though, close enough that he can make out the top floor of the building sticking up a few blocks away, and so it’s with tunneled vision and shaking legs that he steps off the curb-

And then he’s flying backward, choking against his own shirt collar as it’s jerked against his neck. He stumbles and falls as a taxi screams past him, driver leaning on the horn, and almost ends up on his ass in the gutter. But there are two hands gripping his shoulders, and they’re big and the hold is tight, so Steve does what comes naturally and braces himself for a fight even though he’s nowhere near recovered from this morning’s brawl. He twists, and seems to surprise the guy enough that he breaks free and as he faces the stranger, he draws himself up -all five feet four inches of him- and barks, “Hey, what was that all about?”

The stranger steps back, holding up his hands to show he means no harm, and his eyes momentarily widen in shock before he schools his expression to something more subdued. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.” the guy says. “Didn’t want you to end up a pancake on the pavement either,” he adds, lips twitching into a smirk, and nodding in the direction the cab had sped off.

Steve let the hostility run out of his posture, but didn’t really relax much. The cold had him shivering so bad he was sure he’d wake up with at least a chest cold if his ribs didn’t just up and shake apart out here on the sidewalk. His apparent rescuer was dressed in dirty work clothes, with his hair curly and limp from the rain, bangs hanging in his face. He looked to be around Steve’s age, no more than seventeen or so, but he was a good half a foot taller and his bones were wound with lean muscle. Bright blue eyes watched him amusedly, clearly waiting for some kind of response, and because Steve had been brought up properly, he said, “Thank you.”

“No problem.” 

With that, Steve turns away, assuming that they’re done here and he can get back home to his Ma and curl up with some blankets in front of the radiator that might finally decide to work right today and try to get some of this awful chill out of his bones.

The stranger, it seems. has other ideas, and starts walking alongside him, hands shoved in his coat pockets as he strolls along casually, as though he doesn’t notice the rain or Steve’s eyes boring into the side of his head.

“Any particular reason you’ve decided to follow me?” Steve asks, trying to keep as much of the bite out of his words as he can, because he really ought to be nice to the guy, but it’s hard.

“I’m walking you home,” the stranger explains, as though this should be obvious. “You look fit to faint right here, are you sick or something?” he asks, and Steve is surprised to find that the other boy seems genuinely concerned.

“Not yet anyway,” Steve sighs, wrapping his arms around his narrow frame in a futile attempt to warm himself. The stranger frowns, but doesn't comment, and they continue on in silence. 

Steve tries to ignore the searching looks being tossed at him every so often, and pretends that he isn't going to fill pages of his sketch book with this other boy's face the second he gets home. Because with his brief flash of anger dissipated, and no conversation to distract him, it's obvious that his would-be rescuer is unfairly attractive, and that is not at all what he should be thinking about. His brain is just another part of his body that won't work the way it's supposed to, and he wants to be home already so he can climb into bed and maybe get warm. "This is me," he says when they reach his building, shuffling his feet.

"Alright," the stranger says, turning to face Steve.

"So, uh...thanks. For ya know..."

"No problem. It was nice meeting you..." The guy trails off, looking at him questioningly. It takes an embarrassingly long time for Steve to realize that the guy is waiting for him to introduce himself.

"Oh! Uh Steve," he supplies, holding out a hand to shake. "Steve Rogers."

"Bucky Barnes," says the stranger now known as Bucky, reaching out to take the extended hand in a firm grip. Bucky's fingers completely surround Steve's, and they're warm enough that it's the first thing Steve has been able to feel since the rain numbed everything.

"Nice to meet you too, Bucky." They let go of each other, and Bucky's expression turns shy.

"So, you uh- you ought to be getting inside before you catch your death, but I'll...see you around?" he asks, and Steve thinks he might be getting delusional with fever already, because Bucky sounds something close to hopeful.

But he smiles anyway and says "Yeah. Yeah, you will."

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism is much appreciated! If you have any thoughts you would like to share (any at all, seriously) just post a comment- I'd love to hear from you. Or, you can come join me on tumblr as fire-lord-mai!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] I Caught You and Now I'm Hooked](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3255734) by [cablesscutie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cablesscutie/pseuds/cablesscutie)




End file.
